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Valentine’s Day Preparations: 8 Foods Which Can Kill Your Libido
Photo credit: bigstockphoto.com
Just as there are plenty of foods available with aphrodisiac properties which boost your libido, there are also many which can have the opposite effect. The main way that foods can kill your libido is by decreasing testosterone production, the hormone responsible for sexual arousal. They do this by increasing the activity of an enzyme called aromatase, which converts testosterone into estrogen. The overall effect of increased aromatase activity is lower testosterone levels and higher estrogen levels.
With Valentine’s day just around the corner we’ve gone ahead and compiled a list for you of the foods to avoid if you want to keep your libido intact!
1. Cheese
Yes, unfortunately, cheese in all its varying delicious varieties is really quite bad for a person’s libido. This is because it’s made from cow’s milk which is absolutely loaded with synthetic hormones and other nasty chemicals. These interfere with your body’s natural hormones in turn throwing your sex drive off balance.
2. Licorice
Not quite as popular cheese, consuming licorice mainly affects the libido in men. This is due to the fact that it contains a natural ingredient called glycyrrhizin (strangest word ever, right?!) which disrupts male testosterone production.
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3. Alcohol
Drinking alcohol on a first date certainly calms your nerves and gives you a bit of Dutch courage, but too much booze is certainly not the way to go for a, well, happy ending! While it makes you feel like your sexual performance is peaking, alcohol in fact greatly reduces your ability to function sexually and lowers the levels of testosterone in your body. We’re not saying don’t have that well-deserved glass of champagne on Valentine’s day with your loved one, but maybe stop at just one!
4. Shrimp
Unlike its relative the oyster, shrimp is really quite the opposite of an aphrodisiac. This is because of the chemical used to clean it called 4-hexyl resorcinol. This chemical is one of several types known as endocrine-disruptors which in simple terms means that they mess with the levels of male and female hormones in the human body. The one in question, which prevents shrimp from discolouring before it’s eaten, is particularly estrogenic and can disrupt a person’s hormones sufficiently to affect their libido.
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Photo credit: bigstockphoto.com
5. Processed meats
Deli meats, which are often processed, are usually wrapped in PVC or polyvinyl chloride. This in turn can leak into fatty foods such as processed meats and cause hormone disruption. Not only that, but the meat itself is often pumped full of synthetic hormones and antibiotics, much like cheese, which do no good at all for your libido or overall health.
6. Mint
Mint is the key to fresh breath and many of us chew gum before going on a date or meeting up with our belle or beau. But stop right there! Why? Because despite its freshness, the menthol mint interferes with hormone levels, and particularly testosterone, lowering the levels of it in your body.
7. Soy products
Soy is in nearly everything we eat these days in the form of emulsifiers, and many people wisely opt for soy options over traditional dairy ones. But eating too much of these plant-based soy products can have an unusual effect all of their own. This is because soy is a plant that contains phytoestrogens. They mimic the same female hormone produced by women to cause the development of secondary sex characteristics. Eating too many of these phytoestrogens could disrupt hormone balance in both men and women depressing libido across the board. High levels of soy are found in soy milk, edamame, tofu snacks, and most vegetarian meat alternatives.
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Photo credit: bigstockphoto.com
8. Microwave popcorn
Some people’s idea of a perfect date night in on Valentine’s might be to have a delicious dinner together then snuggle up on the couch with a movie and some sweet (or salty) microwaved popcorn. But wait, you know the bag that the popcorn comes in? Well the lining contains a lot of different chemicals like perfluorooctanoic acid which kill your sex drive. Over time they can even have cause prostate problems in men. If you still really want that movie and popcorn night, why not try buying raw popcorn kernels and popping them in a pan with a lid? It’s healthier, tastes better and you can include your own healthy toppings. Result!
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So, there it is, a roundup of the foods you should avoid if you want to keep your libido intact in time for Valentine’s day. Most of these are unfortunately substances that many of us wouldn’t think twice about eating or drinking, and most are probably consumed several times throughout the week. But the truth is that these foods and others can interfere with your hormones and cause your sex drive and sexual functioning to not be as it should be.
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